Marks and Spencer Foodhall opens at the new Clock Tower Retail Park with ribbon-cutting ceremony

Norma Mack, store manager, (left) and Carol Lee, cutting the ribbon, she has worked for Marks and Spencer’s for 32 years

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More than three years after the iconic Britvic factory closed in Chelmsford, the famous site is back in use, as a Marks and Spencer Foodhall marked the opening of the new Clock Tower Retail Park.

The store, which covers more than 10,000 sq ft, officially opened this morning (November 22) at 10am, with Store Manager Norma Mack and her team of 80 colleagues joining in the ribbon cutting.

Customers streamed through the doors after a year of hard work to bring the disused site, off Westway, back to life.

It was the first store to launch at the new Clock Tower Retail Park in Chelmsford

Norma, who has worked in every M&S store in Essex during her 30-year career, said: “I’m so relieved. It has been a long time coming. I’ve had the team on board since the middle of September and all we have been doing is living and breathing Westway.

Inside the new M&S Foodhall

“We’ve had a lot of people come to talk to us about having worked here. They’ve been really enthusiastic and although they were upset about what happened with Britvic, actually they feel happy that it is Marks and Spencer that has taken over.

“I opened a store before about 10 years ago but technology has moved on and to be given the opportunity to open another new store is just wonderful.”

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Of the 80 new employees, 60 have been brought in from the local area, with other big-name brands at the Clock Tower Retail Park, including Dunelm and DFS set to further help tackle unemployment in the city.

The store M&S Foodhall offers a 76-seater M&S Café, along with an in-house bakery.

Inside the Foodhall where shoppers can enjoy their meals

Section Manager Chrissy Buckingham, who has been with the company for 32 years, added: “It is the right thing for Chelmsford I think. With the catchment area of Ongar, Ingatestone, Margaretting and that side of Chelmsford, what we offer is convenient shopping.